


To the End

by tirsynni



Series: Unexpected Side-Effects [1]
Category: Final Fantasy VII
Genre: Gen, Mother's Day, Pre-Game(s), unexpected side-effects
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-05-12
Updated: 2014-05-12
Packaged: 2018-01-24 10:40:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 687
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1601945
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tirsynni/pseuds/tirsynni
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>An Unexpected Side-Effects Mother's Day ficlet. In quiet Nibelheim, before everything goes to hell, Cloud's parents share a moment.</p>
            </blockquote>





	To the End

Ulfhilde sang a song no longer heard within the Nibel Mountains. She danced as she sung, a knife in her hand easily chopping the potatoes to small chunks. She knew certain neighbors hated the song, hated the memory that there had been life in these mountains before ShinRa, so she responded by singing even louder.

“You need to teach me that language. I’ve heard you sing that song before, but I don’t know the words.”

Ulfhilde finished the verse and the last potato. Tossing the chunks into the simmering pot, she grabbed a towel and turned to the kitchen door.

For a ShinRa boy, Gunther looked good with a dead Nibel wolf slung over his shoulder. Ulfhilde nodded approvingly, noting the clean kill and clean fur. “You are almost there. Keep that up, and I will teach you a word or two.”

She would never admit what his laughter did to her. It boomed throughout her small house, filling it and her in a way she had not expected. She had believed she would live alone there until the end of her days, the last with hot blood and strong heart still within the Nibel Mountains.

Too bad it was one of _their_ descendants who had finally caught her eye. Still, he trained up well.

Ulfhilde turned back to her soup, and she heard his low snort behind her. Without a word, he slammed the wolf’s body onto her table. She heard the _shink_ of his sword.

“If you use that to cut up the wolf, I will use it to cut off your head. Grab a knife.”

Ulfhilde watched him out of the corner of her eye as he complied. His large sword _shinked_ back into its sheathe. When he reached for one of her knives, his large hand dwarfed it. If any child of theirs dared to take after him while still in her womb, she would cut out the brat herself.

The thought made her reach involuntarily toward her stomach. She pretended she was putting her towel back before he noticed. “Do not forget to make an appropriate offering. I know no gods dwell in that forsaken place of yours, but they still live here.”

She felt her goddess’s gaze on her deep in the night. She knew in her bones that something was coming. Later, she would tell Gunther. As foolish as he could be, he knew how to listen. He was always so eager to learn and he never stopped coming back for more. The bones deep within the mountains grew more restless with each passing day. They both needed to be ready.

Instead of heading back to the wolf, Gunther wrapped a large arm around her waist and held her close for a moment, breathing in her hair. For just that moment, Ulfhilde leaned back into his unnatural warmth and smelled the acidic musk which made up his scent. Perhaps he knew, after all.

“An offering to Death, then?” he murmured.

She hummed. It was too early to tell yet, but she had a feeling she had other offerings to make. Still all she said was, “Of course.”

Gunther loosened his grip, and for a moment, they swayed as she hummed the next verse of her song. Foolish man, having lived too long in the city, but…he was her darling. When so many were weak, when so many abandoned the Old Ways, her goddess sent her this man.

She was grateful, and someday, she would let him know.

For now, she simply guided his hand to her stomach and danced with the oblivious man, humming as he danced with a knife in one hand and a dead Nibel wolf behind them. She hummed of death and blood and victory. She hummed of love and despair. Still clad in his SOLDIER uniform, Gunther gamely tried to hum along.

One day, she would teach her foolish darling all of her songs, and then, they both could teach the songs to the next generation. She thought she already knew of a good name.

When she sang about the clouds, Gunther simply hummed along.


End file.
